What if EVERYONE was open and honest about their rates?
 

Do you think this would allow rates to go up or down?

I think rates would go up. This huge amount of secrecy hurts our business. Many trucks are moving for cheaper then they should.

This is not collusion. Collusion is when businesses get together and set rates, without the customer present.

What I'm talking about is transparency, not collusion.

Im honest, mine are in the toilet compared to what you guys think they should be even alowing for Im running dry van, all in all most people just rag me here about it n offer nothing usefull.
Only G-man and Load-it have offered any constructive criticism, most just gloat about their getting so much better (especailly the household goods people :p like dont you know you guys get more any way...well yeah wait till you scratch something and some rag bitch sues your insurance lol over a little ding you can barely see lol)....when I asked Big for some shipper referals then he of course declined lol....like i could do anything with them tho lol
Load its best advice was I need to specialize better...n I think hes right
Just wondering...I have a vented dry van....n he said something about getting a lift n jack....i think he thinks i should do nursery work, but havent got around to asking him yet.

I had to go out and sell my services, no one handed me my shippers on a silver platter. Had to work hard for them. I started by asking family and friends if they had any contacts and went from there.

He-he cant blame me for trying tho eh?...just 1 truck n dont plan to get any bigger lol....youl hardly miss it lol
n I am asking a friend, my good ol Pal Mr. Big :D ....hmmm you say im not your good ol pal (sniff) im hurt n wounded :D

Check your PM. 8)

Good Lord Pepe have you no shame! :) :)

I think it was Mark Twain who wrote Hunger is Pride's master. :)

By the way that's why I like this board. Maybe cause nobody really knows one another, but like my friend won't answer my questions (and I'm not even asking for contacts, just questions on the biz) but people here are really helping us that don't know.

Pepe, it takes time to find your niche. Sometimes you just need to try new things until you find something that works for you. Nursery stock does pay well, for the most part. You can also haul apples, onions, water melons, potatoes, etc., if produce is your cup of tea. Personally, I would stay away from produce without a reefer, but nursery stock could work for you. Seasons are normally short for nursery stock. They can be longer in some of the more temperate climates. I believe Load It was talking about a pallet jack.

Some people whom I have known who have done well with vans carry extra items such as blankets and logistics straps. They come in handy if you want to get into LTL freight.

There are pros and cons to any type of hauling. Household goods are much like hauling cars in that you can make good money but there is considerable liability. How well you manage your damage will determine your level of success. Simply having a high gross doesn't necessarily mean that you are making money. You can have a million dollars in revenue and still lose your shirt. You can't compare pulling a van to HHG or any other type of hauling. They are different. Don't worry about what others make. It doesn't matter. Each business is somewhat unique.

I'm honest about mine. If you do a search, you'll see I've posted each quarters earnings including all miles. Once I posted my last 10 loads including rates, trailer type, origin & destination. My rates haven't went down but I only move a couple loads per month these days.

Re: What if EVERYONE was open and honest about their rates?
 

The biggest problem with this is most truckers are at someone elses mercy and they have no idea what the customer is paying. They turn down a few loads, then they have to get moving so they take the next load cheap or not. If the rates werent a "secret" the backstabbing and under cutting would be worse than it is. There is a website called youship.com (not really spelled that way, but i'm not advertising for them) where you say what you can move the freight for and the shipper comes back lower and someone else quotes it even lower and this goes on and people complain about cutting rates. I always tell this story... There was a dryvan run from Neenah WI to Detroit MI that loaded Friday evening delivered Sunday evening and paid $3000. Once the brokers got into the shipper, they were trying to move that lane for $1.25 per mile. Were they pocketing the difference, probably not. They probably had no idea trucking companies were getting $3000 or maybe the shipper wanted to move it cheaper and called the brokers? I like the they had no idea theory.

I actually was signing up for that website I think but you had to write some stuff on you and they were asking some insurance things I wasn't sure of so I was going to get back to it later.

Actually some guy called me from Real Time Freight. I asked aren't you the website with shippers direct? Yes he said and seemed indignant when I told him I had heard the rates were very low on that site. He asked if $2.25 a mile was low. I told him no and as I was driving he was going to call me back and have me log in with his password while he was on the phone.